Young people have undeniably been in the media a lot recently, particularly in relation to gun crime, knife crime and other types of violence. But what I do not understand is why so many "good" young people go unnoticed. There are loads of examples of young people doing positive things in the community, yet the media only picks up on the negative. This is not to say that the bad behaviour is acceptable, because by no means is it at all. I think that the world is now becoming less and less sensitive to such horrific crimes because we are so used to hearing them, but that does not make them acceptable. However, what I am saying is that all young people can become unjustly categorised as one group where they all think, speak and act alike. This is not right.
For example, so many young people are carers. Does this ever get media coverage? The 2001 census found that there were around one hundred and seventy five thousand young carers under the age of eighteen at that time. How fantastic is it that young people are taking on such an extraordinary task. I understand that many of them are scared to accept help from elsewhere because they fear their family being broken up, but that does not change the figures. It changes their motives but they are still not doing it for any other reason than love. How many of us remember hearing or reading a story about a young carer in the last month? And how many of us have heard stories about the way young people in society are becoming uncontrollable? Exactly.
I remember reading once in a BBC article about a young girl who had achieved so much in her community, yet still feels she is being judged because of her age. She argued that some adults believed she was only doing such positive things because she wanted something in return. I would like to know whether this is a common held belief. Do some really believe that young people behave well for some ulterior motive?
Being a young person myself I do not think that young people want to be judged solely on the actions of a few trouble making individuals in society. It is no surprise that some want to show others that they are not at all like those "trouble making" youths they are so often described as because of the influence of the media.
I think that young people deserve to be seen as individuals. If anything, I would urge people today to stop using the term "youth" as a negative word. Not all young people are the same as each other. The majority of young people are living just as recommendable lives as you did. Yes, be wise and do not assume that every young person is reliable, safe, trustworthy and honest, but please remember that most of them are not the "yobs" we see plastered all over the news. Give them a chance.
